X-Men (Earth-616)
Status Official Team Names: X-Men Team Nicknames: Children of the Atom Aliases: No known aliases Team Status: Active Team Identity: The X-Men are known mutants. Many of their identities are publicly known Base of Operations: Xavier Institute, Salem Center, Westchester County, New York. Formerly, Australian Outback Place of Formation: Xavier Institute, Salem Center, Westchester County, NY First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men #1 Organization Team Leaders *Cyclops (Scott Summers) (Astonishing X-Men Squad) *Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner) (Uncanny X-Men Squad) *Rogue (Anna Marie) (Emergency Response Team) Active Members *Beast (Hank McCoy) *Bishop (Lucas Bishop) *Cable (Nathan Summers) *Cannonball (Sam Guthrie) *Colossus (Piotr Rasputin) *Cyclops (Scott Summers) *Darwin (Armando Munoz) *Emma Frost *Havok (Alex Summers) *Iceman (Robert Drake) *Karima Shapandar* *Lady Mastermind* *Lockheed *Marvel Girl (Rachel Summers) *Mystique (Raven Darkholme) *Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner) *Polaris *Professor X (Charles Xavier) *Rogue (Anna Marie) *Sabretooth (Victor Creed) *Shadowcat (Kitty Pryde) *Warpath *Wolverine (Logan / James Howlett) (*) = Upcoming members. Former Members *Angel (Warren Worthington) *Banshee (Sean Cassidy) *Cecilia Reyes *Chamber *Changeling *Danielle Moonstar *Dazzler (Alison Blaire) *Forge *Gambit (Remy LeBeau) *Husk *Joanna Cargill *Joseph *Jubilee *Juggernaut (Cain Marko) *Kuan-Yin Xorn *Lifeguard *Longshot *M (Monet St. Croix) *Maggott *Magma (Amara Aquilla) *Magneto (Magnus) *Marrow *Mimic *Northstar (Jean-Paul Beaubier) *Omerta *Petra *Phoenix (Jean Grey) *Psylocke (Elisabeth Braddock) *Revanche *Sage *Shen Xorn *Slipstream *Storm (Ororo Munroe) *Sunfire (Shiro Yoshida) *Sunpyre *Stacy X *Sway (Suzanne Chan) *T-Ray (Terry Raymond) *Thunderbird (John Proudstar) *Thunderbird (Neal Shaara) *Vulcan (Gabriel Summers) *Wraith (Hector Rendoza) *X-Man (Nate Grey) Other X-Men Teams Muir Island X-Men :*Alysande Stuart, :*Banshee, :*Forge, :*Legion, :*Magik (Amanda Sefton), :*Moira MacTaggart, :*Multiple Man, :*Polaris, :*Sharon Friedlander, :*Siryn, :*Strong Guy, :*Sunder, :*Tom Corsi Great Lakes X-Men :*Big Bertha, :*Doorman, :*Flatman, :*Mister Immortal, :*Squirrel Girl, :*Tippy-Toe New X-Men :*Dust (Sooraya Qadir) :*Elixir :*Hellion (Julian Keller) :*Mercury (Cessily Kincaid) :*Prodigy (David Alleyne) :*Rockslide (Santo Vaccarro) :*Surge (Noriko Ashida) :*X-23 Former Training Squads New Mutants Training Squad :*Elixir :*Icarus :*Prodigy (David Alleyne) :*Surge (Noriko Ashida) :*Wallflower :*Wind Dancer Hellions Training Squad :*Dust (Sooraya Qadir) :*Hellion (Julian Keller) :*Mercury (Cessily Kincaid) :*Rockslide (Santo Vaccarro) :*Tag, :*Wither Paragons :*DJ :*Match :*Pixie (Megan Gwynn) :*Preview (Jessica Vale) :*Trance :*Wolf Cub Alpha Squadron :*Anole :*Indra :*Kidogo :*Loa :*Network (Sarah Vale) :*Rubber Maid (Andrea Margulies) Corsairs :*Dryad (Callie Betto) :*Quill (Maxwell Jordan) :*Specter (Dallas Gibson) :*Stepford Cuckoos Gambit's Squad :*Bling! (Roxy Washington), :*Flubber, :*Foxx, :*Onyxx, :*Rain Boy Allies and Enemies 'Allies:' :*Alpha Flight, :*Avengers, :*Beta Flight, :*Big Hero Six, :*Cadre K, :*Candy Southern, :*Carol Danvers, :*Evangeline Whedon, :*Excalibur, :*Fantastic Four, :*Gamma Flight, :*Gateway, :*Gazer, :*Generation X, :*New Mutants, :*Red Lotus, :*Sharon Friedlander, :*Spider-Man, :*Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew), :*Starjammers, :*Stevie Hunter, :*Tom Corsi, :*Valerie Cooper :*X-Corporation, :*X-Corps, :*X-Factor, :*X-Force, :*X-Statix, :*X-Terminators, 'Enemies:' :*Arcade, :*Apocalypse, :*Black Tom Cassidy, :*Brood, :*Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, :*Cassandra Nova, :*Children of the Vault, :*Count Nefaria, :*Dark Phoenix, :*Elias Bogan, :*Hellfire Club, :*Magneto (Magnus), :*Marauders, :*Mister Sinister, :*Mojo, :*Nimrod (Sentinel), :*Onslaught :*Reavers, :*Sentinels, :*Shadow King History Silver Age X-Men (X-Men Vol. 1 #1-X-Men Vol. 1 #66)Original Members: Cyclops (Scott Summers)*, Marvel Gir (Jean Grey)l, Iceman, Beast (Hank McCoy), Angel (Warren Worthington III). "Added" Members: Havok (Alex Summers) (1st Uncanny X-Men 54), Polaris (1st Uncanny X-Men 49). Neither Havok nor Polaris actively joined the team at this time, but assisted the X-Men and Professor Xavier in a support capacity. They are later shown as being on the original team in full in Giant-Size X-Men 1. * denotes deputy team leader. (Professor X was actively team leader for much of the Silver Age run). The X-Men were founded by Professor Charles Xavier. Mutants were hated and feared because they were unlike humans, Xavier created his School For Gifted Youngsters to create a safe environment where mutants could learn to control their powers. Xavier's first group of students consisted of the bouncing Beast, the high flying Angel, telepath and telekinetic Marvel Girl, Iceman, and team leader Cyclops. After training extensively in the school's Danger Room, the students were sent on field missions to protect both humans and mutants from mutants who used their powers with bad intentions. The first such mission brought them to Cape Citadel, Florida in direct confrontation with MagnetoIn Uncanny X-Men 1, who would go on to become their frequent enemy along with his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.See Uncanny X-Men 4-7 After Magneto's capture by the StrangerIn Uncanny X-Men 11., the X-Men would face the menace of the JuggernautIn Uncanny X-Men 12 and Uncanny X-Men 13 and the Sentinels.Uncanny X-Men 14-16. Their next major opponent would be the mysterious organization known as Factor Three.In a protracted storyline that occurs over Uncanny X-Men 28-39 Following the defeat of Factor Three, the X-Men would face their greatest tragedy when Professor X apparently dies at the hands of Grotesk!Uncanny X-Men 42 Shortly thereafter, Magneto and his Brotherhood capture the X-Men, and only with the help of the Avengers do they defeat him.Uncanny X-Men 43-45 and Avengers 53 Returning home, the FBI's Agent Duncan orders the team to break up, to better combat crimeUncanny X-Men 46, which they do for the next few adventures. They are brought back together again by Mesmero and Magneto's capture of Lorna DaneUncanny X-Men 49-52. The Magneto is a robot., and remain together after defeating him. Shortly thereafter they attend Scott Summer's brother Alex's graduation, only to get involved in a strange caper involving the Living Pharaoh!Uncanny X-Men 54-56 Alex is apparently lost in the Sahara following this, but our heroes have little time to search before being attacked by a new incarnation of the Sentinels.Uncanny X-Men 57-59. Defeating the Sentinels, resulting in the death of Larry Trask, the X-Men search for a way to help Havok control his awakening mutant powers, only to discover Sauron.Uncanny X-Men 60-62 This battle leads them to the Savage Land, where they again battle MagnetoUncanny X-Men 63 and his Savage Land Mutates. The X-Men subsequently manage to stop SunfireUncanny X-Men 64 in a battle which causes him to see the error of his ways. It is then revealed that Professor X is not dead at all, but has been preparing for the invasion of the Z'NoxUncanny X-Men 65 and needed the time without distractions that his death bought him. The X-Men repulse this threat, and then track down the incredible HulkUncanny X-Men 66 to get a device designed by Bruce Banner to aid their comatose mentor. All New, All Different (Giant-Size X-Men #1, X-Men Vol. 1 #94-Uncanny X-Men #166)Initial Team Members: Cyclops* (Leaves team Uncanny X-Men 138, returns Uncanny X-Men 150), Jean Grey (through Uncanny X-Men 101), Storm*, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Sunfire (briefly), Banshee (through Uncanny X-Men 128), Thunderbird (died Uncanny X-Men 95). Added: Phoenix (1st Uncanny X-Men 101, died Uncanny X-Men 137), Kitty Pryde (1st Uncanny X-Men 129), Angel (Uncanny X-Men 141-148). Reserve: Havok, Polaris, Iceman, Banshee. * denotes team leader(s) When the first group of students were captured by the living island of Krakoa, Xavier recruited an all new, all different group.Giant-Size X-Men 1 The German demon-looking teleporter Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner), Russian strongman Colossus (Piotr Rasputin), Irish sonic screaming Banshee, African "Goddess" of weather Storm, Japanese hothead Sunfire (Shiro Yoshida), Canadian berserker Wolverine (Logan / James Howlett) and Native American Thunderbird (John Proudstar) rescued the original team. The new multi-cultural squad set the tone for future generations of X-Men. Soon after, all of the original X-Men left except for Cyclops. Sunfire abruptly quit. Thunderbird was killed during the new teams second mission against Count Nefaria.Uncanny X-Men 94-95 Upon reentry to Earth after a mission in space against the SentinelsUncanny X-Men 98-100, Jean Grey pushed herself to the limits holding their spacecraft together and shielding her team members from intense radiation.Uncanny X-Men 101 Believed dead upon their crash landing in the Atlantic Ocean, Jean suddenly arose from the ocean wielding more power than ever before and calling herself Phoenix. Soon after, the X-Men returned to space to aid Lilandra Neramani of the Shi'ar stop her brother D'Ken from using the M'Kraan Crystal to take over the universe.Uncanny X-Men 105, 107, and 108 With the crystal about to shatter and destroy reality itself, Phoenix used her awesome power to fuse it back together. The X-Men returned to Earth, and Lilandra briefly returned with them. After a fierce battle with Magneto inside an Antarctic volcanoUncanny X-Men 112 and 113, most of the X-Men found themselves in the Savage Land and separated from Phoenix (Phoenix Force) and the Avenger Beast (Hank McCoy), with each group presuming the other dead. Phoenix and Beast would return to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters to let him know the bad news, and having nothing keeping him on earth, Xavier chooses to accompany Lilandra back to Shi'Ar space.Uncanny X-Men 114 The X-Men would slowly make their way back home to the mansion, after adventures in the Savage LandUncanny X-Men 115-116 and in Japan.Uncanny X-Men 118-119 Banshee injured his vocal chords during a battle with Moses MagnumUncanny X-Men 119, leaving him powerless. And the X-Men got ambushed by Alpha FlightUncanny X-Men 120-121 on the way back to the states, who took Wolverine into custody (although he quickly escaped). When they finally returned home, they found Professor X gone and the mansion's telephone disconnected. They would rejoin Phoenix on Muir Island when they battled ProteusUncanny X-Men 125-128, the reality altering mutant son of Moira MacTaggart. Despite his injuries, Banshee still accompanied the X-Men for that mission. Realizing he wanted to stay by Moria's side, Banshee left the group to be with her. Professor X would soon return in time to recruit Kitty Pryde for the school and defeat Emma Frost.Uncanny X-Men 129-131 The battle with Frost plus the ambush at the Dazzler's concert alerted the X-Men to the existence of the Hellfire Club. While Phoenix believed the X-Men to be dead, she caught the attention of Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde), who created a rich "Lady Grey" fantasy world with his illusions in her mind using a device created by Emma Frost. Eventually believing herself to actually be Lady Grey and also consort to Wyngarde, she was easily convinced to become the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club during the X-Men's battle against them.Uncanny X-Men 132-134 Phoenix broke free from Wyngarde's control when she saw a psychic version of Cyclops being murdered. Unleashing her dark side, Phoenix became Dark Phoenix, used her powers to drive Mastermind insane, destroy the Blackbird, and abruptly depart from Earth. Seeking to enjoy the same sense of power as when she was inside the M'Kraan Crystal, Phoenix traveled to a distant star and absorbed it's energy. The sun went nova, destroying a nearby planet inhabited by five billion aliens.Uncanny X-Men 135 Upon her return to Earth, Beast designed a neutralizer to subdue the all powerful entity. Xavier placed mental blocks in her mind to reduce Dark Phoenix's powers and allow Jean to regain control.Uncanny X-Men 136 Aware of the massacre in their Empire, The Shi'ar arrived on Earth demanding the death of Dark Phoenix. Xavier invoked Arin'n Haelar, an irrefutable Shi'ar duel of honor. Knowing they would win, Lilandra agreed to allow the Imperial Guard battle the X-Men. Putting up a valiant fight, the mutants fell one-by-one during a long battle on the Blue Area of the Moon. With only Cyclops and Phoenix left standing, Summers was hit by a stray energy bolt. Set into a panic, the mental blocks Xavier placed were destroyed and Phoenix was able to utilize her full power. Lilandra ordered Plan Omega, the complete destruction of the Sol system, upon Phoenix's return. To avert the loss of the entire star system, Xavier ordered the X-Men to defeat Phoenix. Jean regained control once more, only to activate a Kree weapon and commit suicide to avert another disaster. Cyclops deduced it was her plan all along.Uncanny X-Men 137 After the funeral for Jean GreyUncanny X-Men 138, Cyclops left the team to figure out where his life was going. Storm became leader in his absence. She underwent a trial-by-fire in a desperate battle against Mystique's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants to save the life of Senator Robert Kelly in the Days of Future Past storyline.Uncanny X-Men 141-142 Other notable foes from this period include Doctor DoomUncanny X-Men 145-147, who would attempt to romance Storm, and a memorable encounter with Magneto in the Bermuda Triangle.Uncanny X-Men 150 As Kitty destroyed the central computer of his superweapon, Magneto lashed out and almost killed her. Horrified at his actions, Magneto ceased fighting and contemplated how he had become no better than the humans who massacred his family.Magneto's redemption would be chronicled in the pages of New Mutants. This issue is the first issue to start developing Magneto's origin as a prisoner of Auschwitz and his marriage to Magda. This battle re-united Cyclops with the team. Corsair of the Starjammers returned to Earth seeking the X-Men's aid in stopping a rebellion against Majestrix Lilandra.Uncanny X-Men 154-157 The Starjammers were framed for kidnapping Lilandra while it was really Deathbird, the Majestrix's sister, in league with the alien Brood. The X-Men discovered the truth, stopped the rebellion against the Shi'ar empire, and reunited Xavier with Lilandra. Cyclops discovered that Corsair was actually his father, abducted by the Shi'ar decades earlier. Shortly thereafter a television interview with Senator Robert Kelly worried the X-Men, who had FBI connections in their early years, and thus had government files on many of them. Carol Danvers, Wolverine, and Storm infiltrated the Pentagon and uploaded an open-ended virus that would erase all references to the X-Men or members of the team.Uncanny X-Men 158 While in the Pentagon, they also encountered Mystique and Rogue of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. The Brood resurfaced abducting the X-Men, Lilandra, and Carol Danvers.Uncanny X-Men 161-166 Traveling across the galaxy to their home planet, a Brood Queen implanted embryos within them. Interested by Danvers unique genetic code, she was experimented upon and became Binary. Although the X-Men escaped from "Sleazeworld" all seemed lost, as once the embryos matured their hosts would undergo a metamorphosis and become a warrior Brood. Storm was saved by a young Acanti, a large space-faring creature that resembles a whale and communicates telepathically. The Acanti had been enslaved by the Brood and used as starships, with nothing left to lose the X-Men vowed to save their race. Freeing the Acanti "prophet-singer" soul from the Brood homeworld, the X-Men were healed. Before killing the Brood Queen, Kitty Pryde found the friendly dragon Lockheed who followed her back to Earth. The X-Family Grows (Uncanny X-Men #167-#243)Initial Team Members:Storm*, Wolverine*, Nightcrawler (until Uncanny X-Men 211), Colossus, Kitty Pryde (until Uncanny X-Men 211). Added Members: Rogue (1st Uncanny X-Men 171), Phoenix (1st ? until Uncanny X-Men 209), Magneto (as Headmaster of Xavier's Uncanny X-Men 200), Havok (1st Uncanny X-Men 219?), Longshot (1st Uncanny X-Men Annual 10), Psylocke (1st Uncanny X-men 213), Dazzler (1st Uncanny X-Men 216?). Temporarily:Cyclops, Angel. * denotes team leader(s). During the prolonged period when they were abducted by the Brood, Xavier believed that the X-Men had been killed. Moira MacTaggart convinced him to form a new team of adolescent mutants that needed his help in controlling their powers.Marvel Graphic Novel 4 Unwilling to see more of his students perish, Xavier vower would only train them in the use of their special abilities and not send them out into combat. These New Mutants ended up in many battles regardless, and occasionally aided the X-Men. The X-Men learned there was one Brood embryo that had not been eliminatedUncanny X-Men 167, one planted in Professor Xavier during their first contact with the evil aliens. Racing home they found Xavier had already transformed into one of the Brood while battling the startled New Mutants. Defeated and taken onboard the Starjammer, Xavier's mind was placed in a cloned body. Upon returning from space, Cyclops (Scot Summers) left the X-Men for a prolonged period of time. He had met Madelyne Pryor during a trip to meet his grandparents in Anchorage and fallen in love. The two married, and had a child; Cable (Nathan Summers). Angel briefly rejoined the team, only to be captured by the Morlocks, and taken down into their tunnels to be Callisto's groom. Storm challenged Callisto to combat, without powers and to the death, which she won, securing her leadership of the Morlocks and Angel's freedom.Uncanny X-Men 169-170 Two more members soon joined the team. Rogue's Brotherhood of Mutants teammates couldn't help as the Carol Danvers persona began to overwhelm her own personality. Xavier agreed to aid the desperate mutant and added her to the roster.Uncanny X-Men 171 Carol Danvers was furious that her friends would allow the girl that destroyed her life to join the team, and left Earth with the Starjammers. Most of Rogue's teammates still held animosity towards her for what she did when in the Brotherhood, but she slowly gained their trust by continually showing her bravery; she nearly died protecting Wolverine and infiltrated the SHIELD helicarrier to rescue Michael Rossi. Later, Jean Grey's daughter from an alternate timeline, Rachel Summers, traveled back in time and joined the team.Issue citation needed. Growing from his crisis of conscience, Magneto became an X-Men ally. Captured by Freedom Force while attending a Holocaust memorial gatheringUncanny X-Men 199, he was put on trial in Paris.Uncanny X-Men 200 Mostly exonerated of charges on account of his second infancy, the trial was unfortunately interrupted by Fenris, who sent Magneto and Professor X for a ride in the Parisian sewers. Half-drowned and near-death from other medical conditions, Xavier convinced his old friend to take his place as headmaster of the institute. Lilandra took him from Earth to recuperate from his injuries. Using the alias of Michael Xavier, Charles Xavier's alleged cousin, Magneto was Headmaster for a long tenure.(New Mutants #35-#75). He would also be invited to join the inner circle of the Hellfire Club, an offer which he and Storm decided was worth accepting.issue citation needed. Cyclops returned, but his attempts to regain leadership of the X-Men was opposed by an experienced Storm, now also an accomplished leader even without her powers.Uncanny X-Men 201 They battled in the Danger Room and Storm defeated Cyclops through martial skill alone - forcing him to surrender by removing his visor. Cyclops left the team. Shortly afterwards, Angel (Warren Worthington III) contacted the original X-Men, including a recently discovered Jean Grey, with the intent of getting them back together again.X-Factor 1 At the behest of his friend Cameron Hodge, Angel proposed that X-Factor be a mutant-hunting contractor as a cover for their activities. Rachel would go dancing up the spiral paths into the Mojoverse shortly thereafter.Uncanny X-Men 209 The Marauders (secretly commanded by Mister Sinister) would make a substantial impact on the X-Men with their callous murder of most of the Morlocks living in the Alley.Mutant Massacre: Uncanny X-Men 210-213 In their first battle with the X-Men, the Marauders took a gruesome toll, paralyzing Colossus, putting Nightcrawler in a coma, and trapping Shadowcat with her own power such that she was slowly discorporating. Magneto would succeed in healing Colossus, who rejoined the team, but Shadowcat and Nightcrawler were beyond the X-Men's help.Kitty would be saved by the combined know-how of Reed Richards and Doctor Doom in Fantastic Four Vs. The X-Men 4, although she would remain in convalescence until after Fall of the Mutants. Cyclops' brother and reservist Havok, Mojoverse freedom-fighter Longshot, the singer Dazzler, and telepath Psylocke took the injured mutants place. After recovering, Shadowcat and Nightcrawler went on to form Excalibur.See Excalibur - The Sword is Drawn While in Texas searching for Forge, the X-Men battled the Adversary and appeared to die saving Earth on live television.Fall of the Mutants: Uncanny X-Men 225-227 The X-Men did indeed perish but Roma resurrected them , which resulted in them becoming undetectable to electronics. While improving public opinion on the heroism of mutants, their friends and family including the New Mutants and X-Factor believed them to be dead. The X-Men would maintain this as a cover story to protect their family and friends from the retribution of super-villains, and relocated to the Australian Outback after defeating the Reavers, whose base they claimed.Uncanny X-Men 229 They would also take in Madelyne Pryor to protect her; she was abandoned by Cyclops, and being hunted by the Marauders.Uncanny X-Men 221-Uncanny X-Men 222 The X-Men would soon make enemies of the Genoshan government after rescuing Jennifer Ransom in a covert ops mission on the island.Uncanny X-Men 235-238 This would later lead to the Genosha-initiated X-Tinction Agenda x-over event. Soon, the X-Men were lured back to New York for the Inferno event.Uncanny X-Men 239-243 and X-Factor 36-39 Madelyne Pryor, who had always bore a striking resemblance to Jean Grey, was in fact a clone created by Mr. Sinister that a part of the Phoenix Force entered after committing suicide on the Moon. Pryor struck a deal with the demon N'Astirh to become the Goblin Queen out of anger at Cyclops. N'Astirh's intentions to sacrifice Nathan to allow demons to freely travel to Earth becomes apparent as his spells slowly converted New York City into a hellish nightmare. X-Men and X-Factor, after being pitted against one another, defeated the demon. Pryor was suicidal after learning or her origin, and killed herself in an attempt to bring Jean Grey with her. Jean survived, and absorbed the remaining Phoenix essence within Madelyne. Note this is the first time the X-Men team confirmed Jean Grey was alive. (Wolverine had first suspected it during the Mutant Massacre event, and they had seen her on T.V. during an X-Factor interview). Divided Besides resurrecting the X-Men, Roma gave them a mysterious jewel called the Siege Perilous. The magical gem could enlarge to a giant portal. All who entered would be judged by higher powers, their good acts and ill deeds weighed, and be reborn in a new life without remembering their past lives. The X-Men found no use for the jewel during the Inferno, against the alien Brood, or when returning to the Savage Land. Curious, Dazzler used her powers to take a look inside the illuminated gem. She saw various alternate versions of herself before they all were murdered and merged into a single being that warned Dazzler everyone dies sometime. Later the same day, a merged Nimrod/Mastermold attacked the X-Men. With only herself and Rogue left standing, Dazzler threw the Siege Perilous behind the Sentinel hoping her enemy would be sucked into the portal. While the portal appeared, the Nimrod/Mastermold anchored itself to the ground and grabbed Rogue as she tried to push it through. With no other choice, Dazzler blasted both of them into the gateway. With Rogue presumed dead, and other members leaving the team, the X-Men were down to only Havok, Dazzler, Colossus and Psylocke. Back in the Savage Land to rescue Polaris, Psylocke had a precognitive vision of the X-Men dying back in the Australian Outback and a bound Gateway pointing to the Siege Perilous. Worried about her vision, Betsy wasn't able to warn the others before Gateway teleported them back to the Outback. Immediately sensing the Reavers approaching when they returned to Australia, Psylocke suggested using the Siege Perilous to escape as the X-Men were in no condition to face the deadly cyborgs. After a brief discussion, and telepathic convincing of Havok, all four mutants entered the gateway. As the portal collapsed back into a gem, Donald Pierce arrived and smashed the jewel to pieces. Meanwhile, Polaris boarded a freighter to travel back home. Her magnetic powers stolen by Zaladane and replaced with awkward size changing and invulnerability, Lorna couldn't simply fly back to her friends. Strangely, she noticed the sailors began to act weird and that her body had become a nexus for negative emotional energy. As chaos erupted on board, Lorna contacted Muir Island for help bringing Banshee to rescue her. Lorna informed all Muir Island residents that the X-Men were indeed alive, but a sudden siege occurred anything could be done. A haphazardly created interim group of X-Men was formed to protect allies of the mutants living on Muir Island from an attack by Pierce's Reavers. Lorna joined mutants Forge, Banshee, Multiple Man, Siryn, the Morlock Sunder, X-Allies Sharon Friedlander, Tom Corsi, Alysande Stuart, Amanda Sefton, Legion and Moira MacTaggart to defend the research center. Val Cooper dispatched Freedom Force to assist. Though the attack was repelled, Sunder and Stonewall were killed by the cyborgs while Destiny was murdered by a Shadow King possessed Legion. The remaining "Muir Island X-Men" stayed, under the influence of the psychic entity. Weeks after entering the gateway, Rogue in the empty Australian base with her memory intact. At first believing the cosmic judging was a joke, she then realized the memories she contained belonging to Carol Danvers were gone. She was then attacked by Ms. Marvel, and discovered the Siege Perilous had given both personalities within Rogue a body connected to a single life force. Rogue was prepared to die, but Magneto intervened and killed Danvers. The two spent time in the Savage Land, allying themselves with Ka-Zar against Zaladane, and began to become attracted to one another. Their relationship ended before it had a chance to blossom once Magneto killed Zaladane, which Rogue opposed. After the Reaver assault Forge and Banshee began to look for the missing X-Men, and found Colossus in New York City under the guise of Peter Nicholas. His memory of his superhero life and his special powers gone, Colossus had become a popular artist in Soho living with Genoshan emigrants. Peter even began a relationship with the Morlock Callisto, her face molded in that of a beautiful model by Masque. Realizing he was happy in his new life, his former teammates left him alone. Psylocke was found naked and amnesiac by agents of The Hand. Her mind and soul were transfered into the Asian body of Kwannon, and she was brainwashed into becoming the Lady Mandarin. On a mission she faced Wolverine, and upon attacking him with her psychic knife the backlash of memories of the X-Men began to break her free from the Hand's control. Storm, believed killed by the Nanny, had actually been de-aged to a pre-teenager; loosing her memories of her adult life in the process. She was framed for murder by the Shadow King, and went back to being a thief. Eventually she crossed paths with Gambit and the two began a partnership, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. Found by the Nanny before long, the two defeated her and though Ororo's memories were returned she remained a child. Ororo took Gambit with her to the X-Mansion and reunited with Forge and Banshee as they were on their search for the missing X-Men. Unfortunately, tests proved Storm was stuck without her powers as a prepubescent . Dazzler was discovered on the beach by Guido, Lila Cheney's bodyguard. Alison learned of her past life through computer files, and became trapped in the Mojoverse after a teleport of Lila's went awry when trying to save Longshot from Spiral. Reunited The partially regrouped team at the X-Mansion is soon thrown another hurdle; Magistrates from Genosha arrive to capture the mutants for crimes committed on the island. Ororo recognizes one of the attackers to be Havok, but cannot warn her teammates before she is defeated along with the New Mutant members Warlock, Wolfsbane, Rictor, and Boom-Boom. All are transported to Genosha by Pipeline and brought before their true captor: Cameron Hodge. Once an X-Factor ally, Hodge actually despises mutants and made a deal with the demon N'Astirh to become immortal, and came to take control of the nation. Warlock, already weakened, is able to help his friends escape. Hodge intends to acquire Warlocks transformation powers, but Wolfsbane returns to stop the transfer though Warlock is already dead. Rhane is recaptured, and transformed into a mutate. X-Factor joins the remaining New Mutants and interim X-Men, consisting only of Gambit, Forge, and Banshee, on a rescue mission to save their friends. In South Asia Wolverine, Psylocke, and Jubilee hear of their friend's fates on the news and end up rescuing Boom Boom and Rictor. Jubilee tends to the young mutants, while Logan and Betsy infiltrate Hodge's citadel only to be discovered by Havok. The X-Men and X-Factor fare no better, with both squads becoming captives. When Havok sees his brother defeated by Hodge, Alex remembers his life before entering the Siege Perilous. Meanwhile Storm had taken Genegineer David Moreau, creator of the mutate process, hostage but was defeated by Hodge and forced to become a mutate. A mock trial found the mutants guilty, and all are given the choice of being transformed into a mutate or death. They choose death, but Hodge first has to deal with the insurrection of the Genegineer, aware Hodge's actions were insane, and many magistrates including Wipeout. As Wipeout had canceled most of the X-Team's mutant powers, Hodge killed him hoping they would be permanently lost. Unbeknownst to Hodge, Moureau gave Storm the ability to return the mutants their gifts rather than into a mutate. A rebel magistrate brought Storm to the X-Men and as she used her powers, Ororo reverted back into an adult and regained her powers. Ororo then restored her teammates abilities, and all escaped and started hunting for Hodge. Concurrently, Moreau planted a bomb to destroy all laboratories within the citadel. Furious, Hodge killed the traitor, though the Genegineer was able to weaken him considerably. The X-Men eventually found their enemy and attacked. Cyclops and Havok unleashed a powerful assault destroying all but Hodge's head which falls near Wolfsbane, who rips it to pieces in a rage. Rictor causes tremors to finally destroy the citadel, burying the remains of Hodge's broken body. Chief Magistrate Anderson leads a revolt against the Genoshan government, and the Magistrates are able to seize power. Havok and Wolfsbane choose to stay behind and make sure mutants are given fair treatment. Because of the intense media coverage of the Genoshan disaster, the world learns the X-Men are alive. Regardless, the reunited mutants returned to Salem Center and begin to rebuild the team that had been splintered for months. Upon their arrival, Warlock's ashes were spread over Doug Ramsey's grave. Unfortunately, there is no rest for the X-Men. Soon after Xavier returns to Earth from his adventures with the Starjammers, an old enemy returns. Shadow King has been spreading waves of hate around the globe, and uses Polaris to absorb the negative emotional energy to empower himself to unthinkable levels. Professor X uses Cerebro to identify the source of the chaos returned from his sojourn in space, sends the X-Men to Muir Island to confront their oddly acting allies. It seems Moira MacTaggart has been training the "Muir Island X-Men", and new visitors Rogue and Lila Cheney have taken up residence and participated in duels. When the mutants arrive to investigate, they are surprised and defeated by the Shadow King-controlled island residents. Back in Westchester, Stevie Hunter is attacked by a possessed Colossus. Xavier finds no way to break Shadow King's control over him other than erasing the Peter Nicholas personality completely. Charles then asks his original students, X-Factor, to rescue the current X-Team. On Muir Island, Shadow King uses Legion as his human host after the current one is killed while Forge has eluded possession and even freed some of his friends. The remaining heroes in good mind are divided into three teams, focusing on an astral plane attack on Farouk with a second team defending Xavier from physical attacks and a third freeing Polaris and disrupting their enemies' nexus. Forge succeeds in using a neuro-synaptic weapon on Psylocke so she can use her "psychic-knife" on Polaris to destroy Farouk's nexus. Xavier is badly wounded during the battle, his legs broken and again confined to a wheelchair. As Shadow King disappears, Legion falls into a coma and the devastation on of Muir Island is apparent. Most importantly, all five X-Factor members return to the X-Men along with Rogue and Colossus; after many years the X-Men have finally reunited as one team. Blue and Gold Following the events on Muir Island, the interim team go their separate ways. Val Cooper asked Multiple Man, Polaris, and Strong Guy to join Havok & Wolfsbane (returned from Genosha) along with the Avenger Quicksilver in the new government sanctioned X-Factor. Siryn joins up with X-Force. Sharon Friedlander and Tom Corsi work undercover at a private school looking after a latent mutant. Amanda Sefton eventually joins Excalibur. Forge, Moira, and Banshee return to the X-Mansion and act as the team's support staff. With the team now larger than ever before, organization suddenly became essential; who would make up the X-Men? To remain effective as a group, the X-Men were divided into two squads: *Blue Squad: Cyclops, Wolverine, Jubilee, Beast, Psylocke, Rogue, and Gambit *Gold Squad: Storm, Jean Grey, Archangel, Iceman, Colossus, and newcomer Bishop The Gold Squad began their tenure attending a party at the Hellfire Club thrown by Emma Frost. The White Queen explained she and other members of the Club were targets of assassination, and sought the help of her former enemies. Before long, Trevor Fitzroy arrived and began to attack Frost and her Hellions. In Australia, Donald Pierce was under attack by Fitzroy's Sentinels. Gateway teleported Pierce to New York, along with three of the attacking robots. The Sentinels seemingly killed Frost, Pierce, and Jean Grey. Fitzroy drained the life of every Hellion he could subdue, killing all of Frost's students. Returning her body to the X-Mansion, Xavier realized Jean's consciousness had been relocated to Emma Frost's body. Jean woke up while in the custody of Fitzroy and Shinobi Shaw, who were revealed to be members of the Upstarts. The Upstarts competed in a contest of murder run by the Gamesmaster. Their first targets were former and current Hellfire Club members, and Fitzroy believed he had won and is entitled to run the Upstarts. Jean surprised the two by using telekinesis, a power Emma Frost lacks, and escaped with the X-Men. Fitzroy used the Hellions life essence to open a portal to the future and bring some allies. Bishop, a future X-Man born in the 21st century, arrived instead. Fitzroy escaped, and Bishop joined the present day X-Men. Xavier realized the White Queen's psyche also remained alive, and returned it to her own comatose body. The Blue Squad meanwhile battled Magneto and his Acolytes. Discovering Moira MacTaggart altered his DNA years ago when he regressed to a toddler, Erik questioned if his recent turn to heroics was a result of Moira's tampering or his own free will. Magneto forced Moira to brainwash the Blue Squad into joining his Acolytes and reside on Asteroid M, a space station haven for mutants. To make matter worse, the American and Russian governments decided to use a plasma cannon on the space station to end the threat of Magneto once and for all. Worried about their friends, the Gold Squad sneaks on board and rescued their teammates, while a traitorous Fabian Cortez abandons Asteroid M and plans to make Magneto a martyr so mutants around the world will join him. Xavier tried to talk the Acolytes into escaping the doomed base with the X-Men, but Magneto and his followers instead stayed to die. Battles with Omega Red (a member of the Soviet Super Soldier program) and Hazard followed before the two teams fought together during the "X-Cutioner's Song". Professor X was giving a speech during a Lila Cheney peace concert when Stryfe (disguised as Cable) shot Xavier and infected him with a technoorganic virus. Simultaneously, Cyclops and Jean Grey were abducted by the Horsemen of Apocalypse in Westchester. They are delivered to Mr. Sinister, disguised as Apocalypse unbeknownst to the Horsemen. Sinister handed over the Summers couple to Stryfe in exchange for a mysterious container. The Gold Team searched for Scott and Jean while the Blue Team joined X-Factor in hunting down X-Force for information on Cable's whereabouts. Cable convinced Wolverine and Bishop it was Stryfe who shot Xavier and not himself, revealing both are from the future and have long been enemies. Apocalypse woke up from rejuvenation to find he had been impersonated, and is defeated by Stryfe. With Beast and Dr. MacTaggert unable to save Xavier, they are forced to work with Apocalypse. He sped up the cycle of the techno-organic virus, forcing the pathogen to burn itself out before it can kill the Professor. Wolverine received a subconscious telepathic message from Jean, hinting that she was being held captive on the Moon. The X-Men found Stryfe's Moon base and launched an attack. Scott and Jean are rescued, though Cable disappeared with Stryfe into the timestream. Meanwhile, Sinister opened his container to find nothing inside. It is soon revealed that Essex opened a Pandora's Box with Stryfe's final revenge on the Summers clan; the mutant infecting Legacy Virus. Apocalypse Following the assassination attempt, the X-Men seemingly dealt with one crisis after the next without a break. Magneto resurfaced very much alive and with a new lead Acolyte: Exodus, the self proclaimed voice of Magneto. During "Fatal Attractions" Magneto prepared an all out war on humanity upon learning the Magneto Protocols, a plan to alter the Earth's electromagnetic field to inhibit Erik's powers, had been activated. Devastated by his sister's death by the Legacy virus, Colossus loses faith in Xavier's dream and decides to join Magneto and try his. The rest of the X-Men stand by their mentor and attacked Magneto on his new space base Avalon when he begins sending massive E.M.P. waves around the globe. Jean and Xavier attacked him telepathically, while Wolverine defends Quicksilver to save him from his own father. Wounded and furious, Magneto rips the adamantium laced onto Logan's skeleton out of his body and leaves him near death. Unable to deal with his old friend's violence any longer Xavier shut down Magneto's mind, leaving him a vegetable. Colossus stayed with his leader, vowing to care for him until he heals. Not long after, the X-Men must deal with the Phalanx Covenant. The Phalanx, a techno-organic race bent on ruling the world, takes over the X-Mansion and assumes the form of various X-Men. Banshee manages to escape along with the captive Sabretooth, a recovering Emma Frost, and the youngest X-Man Jubilee. Banshee learns the Phalanx are after the next generation of mutants, hoping to experiment and eventually be able to absorb the young mutants into their collective. Sean and Emma are able to save the targeted young mutants, but only with the sacrifice of the young Clarice Ferguson, aka the 616 Blink. The saved teenage mutants become Generation X and are taught how to use their mutant powers by Banshee and Frost at the Massachusetts Academy. Around this time, the Blue and Gold squads dissipate into one large X group. Generation X is still in it's infancy when Legion wakes up from his coma with his fragmented mind completely healed. Wanting to make up for the pain he has caused his father, David Haller plans to travel back in time to kill Magneto; eliminating the greatest threat to human/mutant coexistence and fulfilling his father's dream. Bishop, Storm, Iceman, and Psylocke travel back in time to stop him, but are defeated. As Legion fires a powerful psi-blast at Erik Lehnsherr, Charles Xavier sacrifices himself to save his friend. With his own father dead, Legion fades away along with the rest of the X-Men. Only Bishop, a temporal anomaly, remains unaffected. In the present day, a crystalline wave emerges from the M'Kraan Crystal and eliminates all of reality. Legion's altering of the timeline is devastating. Noticing the mutant energies during the battle against Haller, Apocalypse begins his world domination a decade earlier than he would've otherwise. Rather than be defeated by X-Factor, Apocalypse and his Horseman conquer all of North America in a world known as the Age of Apocalypse. He erects a citadel on Manhattan Island with breeding pens and ghastly experiments run by Sinister and Dark Beast, a twisted version of Hank McCoy. Humans flee to Europe, and are frequently massacred by Sentinels. In this reality, the X-Men are created by Magneto and act as freedom fighters. Although they suffer many casualties, the X-Men are able to send Bishop back in time to stop Legion and restore reality to normal. Somehow four AoA individuals remain in the normal 616 reality (X-Man, Sugar Man, Dark Beast, Holocaust) while two (Blink and Sabretooth) join the dimensional hopping Exiles. Onslaught When the Professor shut down Magneto's mind months earlier, Erik Lehnsherr's anger combined with Xavier's repressed negativity resulted in the birth of a psychic being. Lying dormant, Xavier's increased frustration with anti-mutant sentiment, deaths due to the Legacy Virus, and failing his own students led him to the breaking point. Immediately following the end of the Age of Apocalypse, a mutant is murdered outside the grounds of the Institute by an angry mob. This final failure of Charles Xavier awakens the near-invulnerable entity: Onslaught. Concurrently, Rogue discovers the enigmatic Joseph. At first she believed him to be Magneto playing dumb, but realized he was truly amnesiac. Concluding he must be Magneto without any memories, Rogue brought him to the X-Men. Using Xavier's body, Onslaught aims to turn the human race into a collective. Seeking more power, he absorbs the powerful mutants Franklin Richards and X-Man. Erecting a citadel on Manhattan Island and closing it off from the rest of the world, Onslaught uses Sentinels and mutant minions to battle rebelling heroes. A first strike by the combined might of the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and the X-Men frees Xavier from the entity's control and leaves him as psionic energy contained within special armor. Jean Grey aids the Hulk in destroying Onslaught's armor. Thor then flew into the now unprotected psionic energy being and managed to damage him. Surmising mutants would only empower Onslaught, the other non-mutant members of the Avengers and Fantastic Four followed and successfully destroyed the entity while seemingly sacrificing their own lives. In actuality, Franklin Richards used his reality warping powers to transport them to a pocket universe. No one discovers the fate of the 616 heroes for a while, and until then anti-mutant hysteria erupts into chaos. Professor Xavier is taken into federal custody. The mysterious Bastion uses the Onslaught crisis to push his militant anti-mutant agenda to the United States government. With the nations approval, Bastion's Prime Sentinels hunt down and eliminate mutants across the country under Operation: Zero Tolerance. Five members of the X-Men (Cannonball, Wolverine, Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Storm) are captured along with members of Generation X, though all manage to escape. The Xavier Institute is completely ransacked, though Cable is successful in protecting the mansion's extensive computer systems. In New York City, Iceman manages to save Dr. Cecilia Reyes (a mutant with a psioplasmic force field) from termination, though her genetic secret is exposed. The bone-wielding Morlock Marrow and Israeli mutant Sabra join the two and take the confrontation to Bastion himself. Before the matter can worsen, Senator Kelly is brave enough to put an end to the murder and SHIELD arrives to arrest the madman. Bastion is later revealed to be the Nimrod/Mastermind robot upon emerging from the Siege Perilous. Meanwhile the other X-Men are returning from a space journey to aid the Shi'ar, and Bishop is separated from his teammates along with Deathbird. The rest end up prisoners of the Nanny, and are eventually brought before Erik the Red (a disguised Magneto) who puts Gambit on trial for past crimes. Erik reveals Gambit lead the Marauders to the Morlocks during the "Mutant Massacre". Repulsed, Remy's friends abandon Gambit half-naked in Antarctica. Returning home, the remaining X-Men help save Cyclops from Bastion's last laugh; a bomb planted in his chest. Dr. Reyes, Marrow, and Maggott (a mysterious mutant met by Psylocke and Angel with intestines that became giant maggotts) stay at the Institute and join the X-Men. The Summers leave for Alaska so Scott can recover from his wounds, leaving Storm and Wolverine in charge. Rogue, Joseph, Psylocke, and Cannonball also remain. The new team only exists briefly, battling Alpha Flight and extradimensional demons. Shadow King returns to trick Psylocke into giving him control of every mind on Earth, and all telepaths briefly loose their powers. Betsy manages to defeat him, though she must not use her telepathy so as to keep him prisoner. Reformation With the disbanding of Excalibur, former X-Men Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, and Colossus return to the team and begin an era of change. Dr. Reyes sets up practice in Salem Center, opting out of the superhero life, while Maggott disappears. The new squad faces a seemingly alternate group of X-Men lead by Professor Xavier, though it's actually created by a sentient Cerebro. Confiscated by Bastion, the nano-technology used to cleanse the Institute gave the mutant locater artificial intelligence. As the X-Men try to solve the mystery, they find the real Xavier and bring him back to Westchester. Unexpectedly, Magneto resurfaces once more. Holding the Earth hostage with the planets electromagnetic field in his control, the X-Men travel to his Antarctica base. Joseph is revealed to be a clone created by Astra, an old foe of Magneto, and was supposed to kill his genetic brother but his amnesia got in the way. In the end, Joseph sacrifices himself to stop Magneto. Yet, the United Nations gives into the terrorists demands anyway; Erik Lehnsherr is handed the island of Genosha. Apocalypse returns and finally reveals the secret of "The Twelve", a dozen mutants prophesied to defeat him. The X-Men try and round up the mutants listed as the twelve according to one of Destiny's diaries. With the help of Skrulls and his new Horseman, Apocalypse manages to capture them first and admits he is the one who started the rumor of mutant saviors; He instead plans to absorb the powers of "The Twelve" to become invincible and unveil the Age of Apocalypse! Using X-Man as a vessel for intense energy, the Living Monolith acts as a power conduit transferring the power of the other mutants: Storm, Sunfire, and Iceman (the forces of nature); Magneto and Polaris (opposing magnetic poles); Bishop and Mikhail Rasputin (time and space); Cyclops, Cable, and Jean Grey (familial unit); and Xavier (mind). Apocalypse did not factor in Magneto's weakened powers, which breaks the machine used for the power transfer and frees the twelve. X-Man is still in danger of being possessed by Apocalypse, so Cyclops decides to free Nate and take his place. With no sign of their former friend, the X-Men destroy Apocalypse and Scott is presumed dead. Soon after, the High Evolutionary is manipulated by Sinister to revert all mutants back into humans. The X-Men temporarily enjoy normal life, but their powers return shortly. Six months pass, and the Neo emerge. Claiming to be the next stage in evolution after homo sapiens superior, they were also effected by the High Evolutionary's actions and suffered casualties. The Neo battle the X-Men several times, who now include Cable within their ranks. Dr. Reyes is brought back into the X-World temporarily. The Neo eventually yield to Magneto, who is about to wage war on humanity. Meanwhile, Senator Robert Kelly is running for President on an anti-mutant platform. Sage attempts to persuade him from causing a race war, but he remains headstrong. Mystique again attempts an assassination along with her Brotherhood, but makes her actions much more obvious. The Brotherhood's attack on Kelly is prevented by a dying Pyro, who begs the Senator to stop the circle of violence. Kelly beings to think twice. Mystique's real intentions are more sinister; she has tampered with the Legacy Virus to release a strain that infects only regular humans. During the attempt on Kelly's life, Mystique and Sabretooth attack Muir Island where Dr. MacTaggart has finally discovered a cure of the virus. Darkholme neutralizes Wolfsbane's powers as she tries to defend her mother, whom Mystique mortally wounds. Mystique even stabs her own foster daughter Rogue attempting to keep the cure hidden, yet she recovers quickly enough and subdues Raven. Professor Xavier is able to transfer Moira's knowledge of the virus to his mind before she dies. As Cable aids his mentor, a human angry at Senator Kelly's change of stance on mutants shoots and kills him. Beast uses Moira's data to create the Legacy Virus cure. Unfortunately, a mutant power signature must be activated for the cure to disperse around the world. Impatient for Dr. McCoy to discover another way, Colossus injects himself with the cure and activates his mutant power; killing himself but saving the lives of countless mutants. Jean Grey still can't believe Cyclops is truly dead, and goes on a journey with Cable to discover the truth. The two eventually find Scott in the Middle East using Jean's rapport with her husband. Cable uses his psimitar to cleave Apocalypse's final hold on his father. Returned to his friends, Cyclops becomes more distant and self-conscious due to insecurities from being possessed. His marriage deteriorates, and eventually leads to him seeking comfort from Emma Frost. With the Legacy Virus cured, the mutates on Genosha are healthy enough for Magneto to amass a superpowered army. Unfortunately, Storm has left the X-Men with a squad in search of Destiny's diaries while others have left for personal reasons when Lehnsherr captures Xavier and brings him to Genosha on the eve of his invasion. Cyclops and Wolverine infiltrate the island nation as Jean Grey recruits ex-Alpha Flight member Northstar, Wraith (Hector Rendoza), Paulie Provenzano, and Sunfire's sister Sunpyre to join an interim X-Men team. Dazzler shows up seeking help but also joins the group, and Jean mentally controls the Acolyte Joanna Cargill to aid the team. On Genosha, the team manages to free Xavier who mentally stops Magneto from ripping out Wolverine's adamantium a second time. Convinced there is no other way, Logan impales Magneto. "X-Men" Go Global The X-Men are again divided into squads, this time under different circumstances. * "X-Treme" Squad: :*Beast (Hank McCoy) :*Bishop (Lucas Bishop) :*Psylocke (Elisabeth Braddock) :*Rogue (Anna Marie) :*Sage :*Storm (Ororo Munroe) :*Thunderbird (Neal Shaara) Not trusting Xavier or anyone else with knowledge of the future of mutantkind, Storm (Ororo Munroe) secretly gathered a squad to obtain the prophetic diaries of Destiny. The team leaves the safety of the Institute and becomes mobile. Early on, Psylocke (Elisabeth Braddock) is killed and Beast critically injured by Vargas. Australian siblings Lifeguard and Slipstream join later in the quest. Eventually the team abandons the search after realizing the prophecies only come true if you choose to let the diary control their actions. * Uncanny/Away Squad: :*Angel (Warren Worthington) :*Chamber :*Iceman (Robert Drake) :*Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner) :*Wolverine (Logan / James Howlett) The "Away Team" of X-Men had their own problems to deal with, confronting Banshee's paramilitary X-Corp, an organization crated to patrol the growing mutant population. Sean formed the team in his grief after Moira's death. Mystique was disapproving of his using some villainous mutants against their will. She infiltrated the X-Corps and slit Banshee's throat, putting an end to the X-Corp. Mutant prostitute Stacy X briefly joined the team after her brothel was destroyed by the mutant hating Church of Humanity. Later, a reformed Juggernaut, psychotic Polaris, Northstar, and Havok join the team. * New X-Men: :*Beast (Hank McCoy) :*Cyclops (Scott Summers) :*Emma Frost :*Phoenix (Jean Grey), :*Professor X :*Wolverine (Logan / James Howlett) After the Eve of Destruction crisis, the Massachusetts Academy closes its doors. Professor Xavier requests that Emma Frost teach on Genosha for unspecified reasons. A new nemesis for the X-Men arrives in the form of Cassandra Nova, Xavier's twin sister whom he killed in the womb. The fetal Xavier recognized her as inherently evil, his own personal "mummudrai", and strangled her until she was delivered stillborn. Very powerful, Cassandra remained alive but weak, until decades later she was finally able to create a psionic body. Nova resurfaces in South America and activates a forgotten Master Mold, manufacturing immense Sentinels to attack Genosha. Magneto, alive but paralyzed from Wolverine (James / Logan Howlet)'s attack, can do nothing but watch as the entire island along with sixteen million mutants are exterminated. Ms. Frost appeared at first to be the only survivor thanks to a sudden mutation of diamond-hard skin. Many mutants around the world began mutating further and gaining new powers. Dr. McCoy labeled them as secondary mutations. Other secondary mutations noted were Phoenix's returned telekinesis and Beast's more feline appearance. Nova was brought into custody by Cyclops and Wolverine, but managed to break free at the Xavier Institute and switch bodies with Charles Xavier. In Xavier's body, Nova shot her previous body to near death. At this point, Emma Frost officially joined the team and the Institute was reopened to students, containing a much larger student body and classes taught by X-Men. On live television, Nova-as-Xavier admitted to the world he and all resident at the Institute were mutants, revealing the X-Men's best kept secret. Only the Beast suspected anything was wrong, and Nova beat him into a coma before leaving on Lilandra's starship for the outer reaches of space. Phoenix (Jean Grey) assumes the role of Headmistress at the Institute and promptly drives off an attack by the U-Men; humans who graft mutant tissue to themselves. During her defense of the school, Jean manifests the Phoenix raptor. Meanwhile, Cyclops and Emma Frost are captured by John Sublime (leader of the U-Men) as he forces Martha the mutant brain to telepathically subdue the X-Men. Both manage to escape, and a freed Martha manipulates Emma Frost into dropping Sublime off of his skyscraper. Beast finally awakes from his coma to warn his teammates Xavier's mind has been trapped in Nova's dead body. Chinese healer Xorn II accepts an invitation to join the X-Men in time for another bout with Cassandra Nova. After wreaking havoc on the Shi'ar Empire, Nova fools the Imperial Guard into attacking the Institute. The X-Men are weakened by nano-sentinels that have been planted by Nova, but are cured by Xorn. Jean is able to fragment Xavier's mind with the help of Cerebra, and place a tiny part in every mutant mind on Earth. As Nova returns to the school and is about to use the mutant locater to eliminate every mutant on Earth, Xavier's mind instead reforms and reassumes control of his body. Once again pure psionic energy, Emma Frost tricks Nova into entering the body of the synthezoid Imperial Guard member Stuff. Trapped, Cassandra is reeducated and unable to flee. The Imperial Guard note that 'The Phoenix is coming, and she is terrifying.' Without purpose, the X-Treme team returns to the Mansion (minus Slipstream, Lifeguard, and Thunderbird). Rogue and Gambit take a leave of absence after their powers are lost. Conflict with Emma and Xavier over the fate of an accused mutant killer quickly drives them away again. Cannonball (Sam Guthrie) joins the team before they face Reverend Stryker and Lady Deathstrike. Storm is soon asked by the United Nations to lead the X-Treme Sanctions Executive (XSE), a government sanctioned and peaceful paramilitary force responsible for policing relations between humans and mutants. The remaining X-Treme members join along with Wolverine and Magma. Rachel Summers is rescued from Elias Bogan by the XSE, and also joins. With his secret out, Xavier changes his strategy and creates the X-Corporation. With headquarters in many major cities around the globe, the new organization acts in more proactive ways to improve human-mutant relations. Unfortunately, the Paris X-Corp must stop the menace of an experiment of the Weapon Plus program, with Darkstar dying in the process. reforms Emma's broken body]] Unrest slowly takes over the mansion, with Quentin Quire and his Omega Gang boldly pushing Magneto's policies during "Open Day" as humans visit the Institute. Becoming violent under the influence of the drug Kick, the Omega Gang begins attacking humans and the intruding X-Men. Sophie Cuckoo, one of Emma's telepathic quintet protégé Stepford Cuckoos, perishes using Cerebra to stop the Gang's rampage. The grief of Sophie's sister, Esme Cuckoo, leads her to reveal Emma and Scott's psychic affair and shoot Frost while she is in her diamond form; splintering her into thousands of pieces. Sage and Bishop's detective work find the culprit, but Esme flees the Institute. Although furious at Emma Frost for becoming close to her husband, Jean displays vast telekinetic power and reforms Emma's broken body. Xorn begins pushing Magneto's theories on his Special Class of young mutants. Disapproving, Xavier confronts him only to discover Xorn is Magneto in disguise. Trapping Wolverine and Jean Grey on the remnants of Asteroid M and incapacitating the other X-Men, Lehnsherr destroys the Institute and takes over Manhattan. Moving closer to the Sun, Wolverine kills Jean so she can unlock the power of Phoenix. Cyclops leads a last ditch assault on Magneto and his allies, and Phoenix returns in time to defeat the mad mutant. On several occasions,they note that something is odd about Magneto, which infuriates him. He makes various threats such as ripping out Wolverine's adamantium again as 'proof' that he really is Magneto. Knowing he is defeated, Magneto uses his stored energy to give Phoenix a stroke 'on the planetary level'. Wolverine decapitates Magneto in a berserker rage as Jean Grey dies in the arms of her husband. With Jean Grey dead, Cyclops rejects Emma's advances and leaves the Institute in Beast's hands. Hank can't deal with the pressure of running the school by himself, and begins taking Kick to deal with the stress. The drug Kick turns out to be an aerosol form of Sublime, an ancient parasitic bacteria that took the human form of John Sublime. Infected by Sublime, Beast creates a chain reaction that destroys civilization. Years later, Jean is reborn as the Phoenix. Although first controlled by Beast, Wolverine and the remaining X-Men restore her memory. After eradicating Sublime, White Phoenix travels through the timestream and pushes Scott to embrace Emma's advances, averting the disastrous future. Decimation Scott Summers and Emma Frost become co-headmasters of the rebuilt Xavier Institute. The returning students are arranged into squads led by other X-Men. Professor Xavier leaves for Genosha, and begins rebuilding the nation with the help of Magneto; "Xorneto" was an impostor. The XSE make the Institute their headquarters, while the other X-Teams are rearranged. * XSE: Storm, Wolverine, Bishop, Cannonball, Sage, Marvel Girl (Rachel Summers) The XSE battles the Fury, Savage Land mutates, and a new Hellfire Club. Sage leaves the team to aid Sunspot in controlling the Club, hoping to prevent Roberto becoming corrupted by power. Cannonball soon rejoins X-Force after recuperating from injuries sustained battling the Fury. Psylocke suddenly appears alive and well in the exact spot she was murdered. Although surprised, she is welcomed back to the team. * "Away" Team: :*Gambit (Remy LeBeau) :*Havok (Alex Summers) :*Iceman (Robert Drake) :*Juggernaut (Cain Marko) :*Polaris (Lorna Dane) :*Northstar (Jean-Paul Beaubier) :*Rogue (Anna Marie) :*Shen Xorn The real Xorn briefly joins the X-Team, and helps battle the latest incarnation of the Brotherhood. Towards the end, the Brotherhood members are sucked into the black hole within his helmet. Juggernaut, distraught after the murder of his young friend Sammy by Black Tom Cassidy, willingly enters the void to look after the confused Nocturne (TJ Wagner). * "Astonishing" Team: :*Beast (Hank McCoy) :*Cyclops (Scot Summers) :*Emma Frost :*Shadowcat (Kitty Pryde) :*Wolverine (Logan / James Howlett) Cyclops' team ditches the leather costumes to bring back spandex, trying to amaze humans and appear more like superheroes. The team faces the extraterrestrial threat of Ord and Genetech's mutant cure. Shadowcat discovers Colossus (Piotr Rasputin) very much alive within Genetech's Research Facility, and he rejoins his friends. Later, the Danger Room becomes sentient and tries to murder the X-Men. Concurrently, the Scarlet Witch lost control of her reality warping powers and destroyed the Avengers in the process. Magneto took his comatose daughter to Genosha, though neither Xavier nor Doctor Strange could help her. With the combined New Avengers and "Astonishing" X-Men arriving on Genosha to deal with Wanda's increasingly worrisome actions, Quicksilver manipulates his sister to create the House of M; a reality where mutants rule over baseline humans. Though the world seems perfect, Wolverine begins to suspect something is wrong. With the help of young mutant Layla Miller, the X-Men and other heroes remember their past lives. The enlightened heroes commence an attack on Magneto's Genoshan headquarters and try to find the missing Professor Xavier. Quicksilver's betrayal is revealed, and Magneto nearly kills him. Angry how her mutant heritage and her fathers choices nearly destroyed her family, the Scarlet Witch utters three words to solve what has happened: No More Mutants. The world returns as it was, with some heroes remembering the House of M. Immediately, White Queen realizes something is wrong and uses Cerebra to locate mutants. Wanda's powers have erased the X-Gene from many mutants, drastically reducing the homo sapiens superior population from millions down to an estimated 198. Among the depowered are Magneto, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Chamber, Jubilee, Blob, and Beak. Other consequences include Wolverine remembering his past and Professor Xavier nowhere to be found. Immediately, the Xavier Institute becomes a sanctuary for mutants who have nowhere else to turn. Old enemies such as Arclight and Scalphunter join allies like Outlaw (Inez Temple) and Erg among the powered mutants who seek refuge. Emma Frost forces the depowered students and faculty to leave the Institute, including Danielle Moonstar. Afraid of violence breaking out, Valerie Cooper dispatches Sentinel Squad O*N*E to protect the swelling population at the X-Mansion. The X-Corp branch in Paris is bombed, causing the other branches to shut down. A group of rabid mutant haters, the Sapien League, attacks the school, declaring that the events were a 'sign' and that they must kill the remaining mutants. At a time when the X-Men are needed the most, a few of their oldest members leave the fold. Storm decides to stay in Africa to aid desperate mutants. Apocalypse (En Sabah Nur) returns with Horsemen that were formerly X-Men or allies of the group. He plans to eliminate most of humankind and have the surviving populations fight each other to the death. The X-Men reluctantly work together with ONE against the threat. Rachel Summers and her teammates find themselves battling Shi'ar sent to eliminate the Greys and then whisked away by Jamie Braddock to battle a cosmic threat. Deadly Genesis A mysterious mutant, Vulcan (Gabriel Summers) returns to Earth. With him comes shocking revelation about Krakoa, the Summers family, a 'lost' team of students, and Professor Xavier's current status. These revelations also cost Banshee his life. The team struggles to deal with these revelations, planning to follow Vulcan into space. Miscellaneous Equipment: Danger Room, Cerebro, Cerebra, Image Inducer Cyber-glasses. Although most X-Men choose to individualize their costumes, standard blue and gold uniforms are available. Transportation: X-Men Blackbird; the original is still in use and Forge has constructed additional models for each team. An earlier version was the X-Men Stratojet and before that the X-Copter. Weapons: No standard weaponry. Some members have at times carried weapons as suited their tastes and current team philosophy (Longshot throwing knives, Cable futuristic firearms, Forge self-made firearms, Wolverine and Psylocke Katana, Storm Knife). Wolverine additionally has a weapon he is incapable of removing under normal circumstances (Adamantium claws). Social Context It should be noted that bigotry toward mutants in the world of the X-Men has long been seen as a metaphor for racism, sexism, and prejudice towards certain religions or sexual preferences frequently occurring in the real world. Professor Xavier has been equated to peaceful civil rights activists like Dr. Martin Luther King. Conversely, Magneto's extreme views compare to Malcolm X and modern day religious radicals. Recently, Storm has been forming her own perspective that acts as a middle ground and is analogous to opinions of moderate progressive activists. X-Men In Other Media So far, the X-Men have starred in two successful animated series, and three full length motion pictures. X-Men: The Animated Series, ran for five seasons from 1992-97 and featured the most popular X-Characters at the time. X-Men: Evolution debuted in 2000, and portrayed the X-Men as teenagers still learning to control their powers. The X-Men have also been the subject of over a dozen profitable video games. Noteworthy entires include X-Men 2: Clone Wars for the Sega Genesis, X-Men Vs. Street Fighter, and the recent action/RPG X-Men Legends. *The X-Men made their first ever animated appearance on the 1960s Marvel Super Heroes TV series. The original X-Men line-up (Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Iceman, and Marvel Girl) made an appearance in one of the Sub-Mariner episodes (the first part of Doctor Doom's Day). The story was essentially an adaptation of a Fantastic Four storyline. But since, Grantray-Lawrence Animation didn't have the rights to the Fantastic Four, they substituted them with the X-Men. Interestingly enough, the X-Men were never referred to as the X-Men. They were instead, referred to as Allies for Peace. The characters kept their original looks and individual names from the comics though. *The X-Men occasionally guest-starred on Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. Spider-Man, Iceman and Firestar were the three regular heroes. The X-Men first appeared on the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends episode The Origin of Iceman. Appearing in this particular episode (in a flashback sequence only) are Professor X and the five original X-Men: Iceman, Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Angel, and Beast. The next appearance on Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends was in the episode A Firestar is Born. Making appearances in this particular episode are Professor X, Cyclops, Angel, Wolverine, Storm, and Juggernaut (plus Magneto in a cameo appearance). The X-Men would return the following season in the episode entitled 'The X-Men Adventure'. Making appearances there were Professor X, Cyclops, Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Sprite, and Thunderbird. ''The X-Men Adventure was meant to be a pilot for an X-Men cartoon, featuring the X-Men characters in the episode, plus Lady Lightning (animated version of Carol Danvers/Ms. Marvel) and Videoman as members. Needless to say, the cartoon never happened. *In 1989, Marvel Productions produced a pilot X-Men episode for NBC called Pryde of the X-Men. The series was never picked up but the single episode aired infrequently in syndication during the Marvel Action Universe series and was later released on video. In 1991, a 4-6-player arcade game was based upon this failed series starring Cyclops, Wolverine, Colossus, Storm, Nightcrawler, and Dazzler. Professor X and Kitty Pryde also appear. *In 1992, the Fox Network launched an unrelated X-Men animated series with the roster of Beast, Cyclops, Gambit, Jean Grey, Jubilee, Professor X, Rogue, Storm and Wolverine with Bishop and Cable frequently guest starring. The two-part piloting episode, "Night of the Sentinels" set off what would become a five season series. It was an extraordinary success, becoming one of the most watched animated series in television history and helping widen the X-Men's popularity. The five seasons ended in 1997. It was put back in Fox's line up for several months after the first movie was released. *In 2000, Warner Brothers Network launched the television show X-Men: Evolution, which portrayed the X-Men as teenagers attending regular high school in addition to the Xavier Institute. The series ended in 2003 after its fourth season. *In 2007, Marvel Studios will put out a new X-Men animated show that will primarily feature Wolverine, this time using a mesh of 2D/3D animation for characters and backgrounds. Avi Arad, CEO of Marvel Studios, stated "X-Men is one of Marvel's crown jewels and it makes sense to focus on the popular Wolverine character for our second animation project." Films The first attempts to make a film version of the X-Men began in the late 1980s along with Spider-Man and Hulk films. James Cameron, director of Aliens and The Terminator, was rumored to have been selected as director, but the project never came to fruition. In 1996, FOX produced a television movie based on the X-Men spin-off Generation X. *In 2000, 20th Century Fox released X-Men, a $75 million film adaptation of the comic, directed by Bryan Singer. *In 2003, the sequel X2 also directed by Singer, was released. This film was loosely based on the 1982 graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills. It was an even greater success than the first film. *In 2006, a third movie X-Men: The Last Stand directed by Brett Ratner was released. Singer was originally slated to direct the film but left the project to work on Superman Returns. Matthew Vaughn was then selected to take Singer's place but dropped out in June 2005 due to "personal issues", resulting in the project being given to Ratner. X-Men: The Last Stand made $120.1 million in its first weekend. *Spin-offs: Lauren Donner, producer for the first two movies, has said the movie studio is interested in producing two spin-off films. One film will star Wolverine, in which Hugh Jackman will reprise his role as the clawed warrior. Screenwriter Sheldon Turner is currently working on bringing Magneto to the big screen in his own spin-off film. The plot will deal with the character's friendship turned sour with Charles Xavier. Turner has stated that "It's going to take place from 1939 Auschwitz up to 1955 or so." Although it at first appears unlikely that Ian McKellen will reprise his role, recently he stated that he would actually be playing a younger incarnation of his character due to a CGI effect which is able to make him appear younger.http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/704/704451p1.html Rebecca Romijn, who plays Mystique in the X-Men franchise, has been approached about a Mystique film. Reputable movie news site http://www.superherohype.com has reported that X-Men: The Last Stand screenwriter Zak Penn is now writing a third X-Men spin-off film as well. There are some rumors that a fourth movie will be made, but it has not been confirmed. Video games The first X-men video game was released by LJN for the NES and was called Marvel's X-Men. That same year (1989) a computer game was also released based on the X-men. In the 1990s Sega of America released two popular X-men video games for its Sega Genesis; X-Men and X-Men 2: Clone Wars. There are several video games for various platforms starring the X-Men. Many of them are 2D fighting games such as 1994's X-Men: Children of the Atom, 1996's X-Men vs. Street Fighter and 2000's X-Men: Mutant Academy. There was also a 3-D fighting-game called X-Men: Next Dimension the most recent in the series are the role-playing games X-Men Legends (2004) and its 2005 sequel X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse. The characters also appeared in the Marvel vs. Capcom series. Konami also created n 1992 an X-Men (arcade game) which featured 6 playable X-Men characters: Cyclops, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Storm, Colossus, and Dazzler. To coincide with the release of the third film, Activision has released X-Men: The Official Movie Game which will fill in the gap between X2: X-Men United and X3: The Last Stand. Notes * Created by: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Trivia * Both Wolverine and Beast have been Avengers as well as X-Men. * [(Warren Worthington)l]] and Iceman were members of the Champions. Angel, Iceman, and Beast were all Defenders. Related Articles *New Mutants *X-Factor *X-Force See Also * Character Gallery: * Character Gallery: X-treme X-Men * Fan Art: X-Men * Appearances of * Quotations by Links * MarvelDirectory.com * Official webpage at Marvel.com * Big Comic Book DataBase list * GameFAQ's Comic Book FAQ: X-Men * UncannyXmen.net * Ultimate X-Men @ ULTIMATE X * Astonishing X-Men at UncannyXmen.net ---- Category:Teams Category:Active Teams Category:Good Teams Category:X-Men Category:Earth-616